What to do with money / checks??

[DVCGirl49]

Hi all.

I know that this may sound silly, but DF and I were just thinking about this, and not sure what to do! We will be traveling down to WDW from NY, and leaving straight from WDW for our honeymoon. What do we do with any money / checks that we may get at the reception? (IE I don't htink that it would be a good idea to take it all with us on our honeymoon, as we are traveling overseas...and I don't htink that it would be a good idea sending it to ourselves certified mail as we won't be home for a few weeks.) The majority of our family, including our parents will also be going on trips to other places after the wedding rather than go straight home, so sending it with one of them is not an option either.

Do we need to open a bank account down in the WDW area and deposit it all? If we open up a bank account around here for some place that is a National chain (Bank of America, HSBC, etc) can we deposit them at a bank down there?

Surely someone else must have run into this issue and we are not the first!

Help!

 

[PrincessJewel]

I would have said send it home with someone you trust. But if no one is around I would definately suggest to deposit it before you leave since leaving overseas. Just make sure you have enough time to do that and are prepared. If you belong to a national chain bank (Bank of America, Wachovia, etc.) you can deposit it no problem. I would just make sure you have a deposit slip ready and locate where the closest branch is and their hours so not driving around lost while there. You could even sign all the checks and fill out deposit form and send a family member to deposit for you. As long as you aren't getting any cash back from the transaction and everything is filled out properly they don't care who drops it off. The only thing to think about is to make sure that you have the time to actually open all the envelopes, sign checks etc. Plus don't forget to write down who gave you what as you go along to do thank you cards later!

 

[DVCGirl49]

That's what we were thinking we would probably end up needing to do. We belong to a small local bank that doesn't have any other branches. But we do have a few Bank of America's around here and could definitely look into opening an account of the purpose of depositing the stuff. We jsut weren't sure how that works, depositing items at an out of state branch/not the area where you opened your account.

We figured that we would open all the cards and write in pencil on the bottom corner of each what was in there/with it. Then mail all of the empty cards with anything else we are given to ourselves at home. We do have someone that will be here at home the whole time who can pick up the boxes and hang onto them til we get home. We were just not feeling good about sending the cards with money thru the post. The wedding is Thurs night, and we won't be leaving for the honeymoon til Sat, so we should have time on Fri to go to the bank.

 

[Cinderella22]

I have a question to add to this--hopefully doesn't sound too stupid.
Do people actually give gifts/money/checks at a DFTW?? I was kind of thinking because of the travelling/accomadations, that in itself would be the 'gift' of their presence--if that makes sense.
what has been other peoples experiences.
Maggie

 

[DVCGirl49]

Good question! I'd be curious to hear anyone's experience with that too.

Of the one DFTW I've been at, I can say that there were definitely quite a few cards containing monetary gifts. DF and I appreciate all the time/effort/cost that is involved for each of our guests to travel to FL to be there for our day. Their presence there is plenty a gift for us and we certainly do not expect anyone to give us any type of additional gift. However, having seen the cards and gifts that my cousin received, I just wanted to have a plan on what to do with anything that we may receive.

 

[Cinderella22]

Oh I completely agree! I made a Disney Honeymoon registry myself--hopefully if anyone does give gifts, it will be with that, so then I dont have to worry travelling with checks etc also.

 

[princessdisneybelle]

We recieved actually gifts. Rice cookers, tools, bedding, etc. Several gift cards, cash and a few checks. We ended up using the cash on our honeymoon. I put the gift cards and checks in my parents safe. The made sure and put it with important papers and brought those home.